Roots N Blues superlatives

Aarik Danielsen @aarikdanielsen

Tuesday

Oct 2, 2018 at 2:41 PMOct 2, 2018 at 3:14 PM

Another Roots N Blues N BBQ festival is in the books. Before we turn the page to other arts happenings, or start daydreaming about next September at Stephens Lake Park, let's take stock of what we just saw and heard. Here are a few of my superlatives from the 12th edition of the fest. I caught part or all of 15 artists' sets — exactly half of this year's lineup — so excuse any oversights or seeming slights to your favorite acts.

Favorite sets:

Amanda Shires: This sort of felt like a foregone conclusion, given that Shires created one of my very favorite records of 2018 so far, “To the Sunset.” Still she had to show, and deliver the goods during her second consecutive appearance on the Roots N Blues stage. She and her crackerjack band imbued her new material with heart and heft, brought nuance to other sections of her catalog and captivated the crowd from first to final note.

Sturgill Simpson: There are many sides to the Kentucky troubadour. Roots N Blues fans witnessed Simpson’s guitar-hero persona as he and three backing musicians tore through his songs with ferocity, taking extended solos that were as funky and heavy as anything I’ve heard. The lines between country, rock, punk and gospel disappeared during Simpson’s set and, if he wanted to, he could single-handedly revive the lost art of the live album by putting a performance like that on tape.

Lake Street Dive: The most delightfully sassy performance of this year’s fest, Lake Street Drive dished out serving after serving of smooth, soulful rock that hearkened back to the golden pop of the 1970s.

Son Volt: So many of Jay Farrar’s songs are Americana gems; here, he and his band upped the ante, decorating his plain-spoken yet profound Midwestern sentiments with a serious guitar attack.

Ha Ha Tonka: On the shortlist of best rock bands to ever emerge from Missouri, Ha Ha Tonka now has more than a decade’s worth of albums to its name. The depth and breadth of its output was on full display in a set full of sing-alongs and cathartic moments.

Sets by The Cactus Blossoms, Kelly Willis and Margo Price all deserve a very honorable mention.

Favorite moments:

Ha Ha Tonka and the killer Bs: I know of very few bands who could bleed a brief take on Beck’s “Where It’s At” into Big Smith’s “12-Inch, 3-Speed Oscillating Fan,” long a staple of its live set. The band’s gentle weirdness and Ozarks bonafides matched one another stride for stride in this joyful highlight of a show packed full of them.

The Price is Right: Speaking of a serious cover game, Margo Price trotted out terrific — and dynamically different — versions of Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush,” Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” and country standard “Whiskey River.” Price also supplied a treat when she took to the drum kit not once, but twice, playing in perfect time with her band’s primary drummer.

She Ain’t Heavy, she’s Amanda Shires: Shires’ band ramped up the energy as the clock was winding down, turning in a dizzying cover of The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” before closing out the set with equally bold original “Eve’s Daughter.”

Sign language: As festival organizer, and longtime venue owner, Richard King noted, Son Volt’s Jay Farrar has a long history with Columbia, dating back to his days in seminal alt-country outfit Uncle Tupelo. Farrar, who saves most of his words for his songs, acknowledged the connection with a few heartfelt remarks and invoked the famous “Liquor, Guns & Ammo” sign which inspired an Uncle Tupelo lyric and hangs in Shakespeare’s Pizza’s downtown location.

Stars are born: There is something both charming and magical about witnessing the ascent of Columbia’s own The Burney Sisters. The pair, ages 13 and 10, kicked off the festival with a Friday-evening set, their wonder at the gig — and the skill which secured it — was evident to all.

Roots N Blues MVPs:

Shires: If Queen of Roots N Blues was a distinction, Shires would deserve it. Charming, alluring, awkward and powerful, she brought everything you could want to her Sunday-evening performance, including a stable full of excellent songs.

Simpson: Simpson took more risks than any other artist at this year’s fest, and they paid off.

Lake Street Dive’s rhythm section: Bassist Bridget Kearney and drummer Michael Calabrese propelled their band, offering the sort of flexibility to turn, stop or change feels on a dime. Kearney’s mid-set jazz bass solo arguably was the most skillful expression seen or heard at this year’s fest.

Kelly Willis: Willis held her own while holding down a thankless slot, playing a mid-Saturday afternoon set when most festival-goers probably craved an electric jolt. What Willis offered instead, for those who had the patience to listen, was song after song after song of richly textured, deeply felt country music.

Smilin’ Bob Lewis: The Ben Miller Band sideman was the fest’s most fascinating utility player, working with a number of instruments and making sounds on an electric washboard I didn’t even know were possible.

The Burney Sisters: For hometown pride and sheer likeability, no group could top this local sister act.

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